Industry Reps Say Anti-Trade Sentiment Makes TPP Approval Uncertain

· March 31, 2016

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March 2016

The intense anti-trade sentiment of the presidential campaign is putting in doubt the congressional approval of the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP), according to two private-sector lobbyists backing the deal.

Myron Brilliant, Executive Vice President and Head of International Affairs at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said on March 30 that the depth of the criticism targeting the current trade model is unprecedented and makes the approval of TPP “far from certain.” He spoke at a breakfast for New Zealand Prime Minister John Key hosted by the Chamber, the Coalition for TPP and the U.S.-New Zealand Council.

At a different event that same day, James Fatheree, executive director for Japan and Korea at the Chamber, signaled the TPP may not get the congressional support necessary to pass even if the administration addresses the complaints raised by the pharmaceutical and financial services industries.

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The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other organizations like them who have been continually selling out American made goods and American manufacturing for the past 20 years. We need Balanced Trade not the phony “Free Trade” sell outs of manufacturing. With their help we have been reduced to a service economy with very low labor participation rates and no wage increases fro the past 20 years. Perhaps we should send all the Chamber of Commerce organization to China since they have been so successful at helping them rather us, the U.S. worker. We do not need them.

R. Dennis Olson commented
2016-04-01 09:19:58 -0400

I think this is wishful thinking. I’ll believe it when I see it: TPP not passed during the lame duck session of Congress later this year after the elections. I think it will be challenging to be able to beat it back when you’ll have all those members of Congress leaving office or not up for re-election for years. I hope I’m wrong, but name me one trade vote that the corporate elite hasn’t won?